Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Quote madness

I generally respect Joe Torre, even if I genuinely dislike almost all things Yankee.

"I thought some of the anger would subside,'' Torre said before the clubs played at City of Palms Park. "Sometimes you have to remind Red Sox fans they did win the World Series, but they still maintain that personality. I mean I love Boston, don't get me wrong, but the anger that has been built up there over the years, it's still the same. There is still a lot of resentment toward the Yankees and that's what fuels the whole rivalry.''

What a beauty. I guess it is all the Red Sox fans fault. Maybe Joe should try wearing a Sox hat and sitting in Yankee Stadium some night.

And normally I don’t even bother with what players have to say. For obvious reasons. But how about this one?

“We got stuck for a couple of years constantly replacing some of our older players with more older players,” Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi said. “That can only last so long. The way we’re going now will definitely help in the long run.”

As someone who goes to NY/NJ a lot, I can say that the "anger" or "hate" is just as intense there...

And no one has to remind Sox fans they won the World Series.

However, if Torre was/is referring to the yahoo bandwagoners in Boston, then I give him props...but he's not, so I take back the props...now he is propless.

I've said all along that the Yankees lost their focus when they went for Giambi. Like them or hate them during their run, guys like Tino Martinez, Brosius, and O'Neill played hard day-in and day-out and had some class. Then they dump Martinez to get Giambi (who went to the team that just broke his and his brother's hearts)...That was the beginning of the Yankees not caring about character in their players anymore (again...). And they haven't won it all since.

as a huge yankee fan, i offer my opinion that the giambi signing was the biggest mistake of the post-dynasty era.

as for not caring about character, well... there is where i think the wheels come off.

at the time, giambi had a reputation as being a clubhouse favorite.

sheffield was sheffield and an argument could be made with him being the foundation, but who presently on that team whose character is questionable? (clemens is not on the roster.)

actually, now that i think about it, scott proctor had an affair and got his lady on the side all sorts of pregnant... but other than that?

one out of 25 isn't enough to make a blanket statement about an organization in my opinion, otherwise julian tavarez and his spring training suckerpunches might make the red sox a bunch of shortfused maniacs.

but speaking of quotes, did anybody else catch (no pun intended) the stuff schilling was saying about varitek's pitch selection? somebody needs to learn who is really in charge...

"So we're into the fourth inning, and the inevitable happens. I start Cuddyer off with a curve ball-strike one. My thought as the pitch is being called is, "OK, anything but a fastball here." Tek puts down fastball in, I shake no. Tek puts it down again, which means he feels great about the pitch. At this point the ONLY thing to do is commit to the pitch and throw it as I called it or step off. I do neither. Mentally I think no, but physically I nod yes. In the middle of my windup I'm thinking, "OK, you idiot, why the hell are you throwing this pitch? About ten seconds later, when the ball lands over the left-field wall, I'm dropping words I'd put soap in my kids mouths for saying."

Certainly, A-Rod over Brosius? Look at A-Rod's numbers and they are ridiculous...look at the teams he was on in the past and they were terrible, until NY...

Sheffield over O'Neill?

Giambi over Tino?

Giambi just lost in heartbreaking fashion to the Yankees in the playoffs...His brother might have even cost them the series by not sliding...And, what about the roids? And Sheff...what about the roids?

And then Damon...who said he could never play for the Yankees...until they gave him the money, that is...The guy is a gamer, but obviously cares zero about loyalty...you can't fault the Yankees for wanting Damon...but you can fault the character of Damon for saying whatever it takes to make fans like him (even if it is all lies)...

Tanyon Sturtze is another rager that I can think of...

Kevin Brown? Randy Johnson (just wanted the payday, and when he couldn't hack it....left very quickly)?

Robin Ventura was another guy that lost in the WS to the Yankees (as a member of the cross-town rivals) and went there for the $$$ first chance he got. Wasn't Ziele another one of those guys, too?

Now, to make the comparison to the Sox...they got away from their philosophy of good chemistry after winning it all, and they haven't been real successful.

I happen to agree that Tavarez is a hot-head...and I didn't like his signing. I am also not happy they let Loretta go...I do happen to think that the Manny negative press is crappy press stirring the pot because he won't speak to them...and I wish Schill would shut his yap...

For the most part, the Sox have a lot of guys that appear to be passive. I wish they looked more upbeat. Lowell, Drew, Youk, Manny...good numbers, little energy. Hopefully, having Crisp in the lineup all year with Lugo adds a lot of excitement to the clubhouse, because it looks like they need it...

And, for the record, it does look like George is getting out of the way in the Bronx and they are getting rid of some of the baggage.

I don't think either team has struggled because of clubhouse chemistry issues. The Yanks struggled because the pitching declined and they had some bad luck (the ARI 9th inning, Tony Clark's ground rule double), some questionable player and managerial moves. The Red Sox struggled because thier bullpen fell apart in 2005 - well documented here. And in 2006, the team fell apart and then collapsed under a couple of injuries. I don't think any of these are clubhouse chemistry concerns. I just don't buy that the Sox pitched like crap in 05 becauuse Millar was not there to keep them loose. Or that the Sox fell apart because Damon was not there to diffuse the media. Remember, the team was in first place on July 31 and for a stretch last summer were the best team in baseball.

Oh well, back to the quotes - the torre one was picked up in the Herald as well, so I'm not sure WHO asked the question. And as for Schilling, I don't really listed to much that he has to say. Sure that could have been him calling out Tek. But I doubt it. Pretty much why most player comments are worthless (like when Damon says Mienkiewicz saves 2 runs a game with his glove). The giambi gem was just too good to pass up.

But, they probably wouldn't have come back from 3 down in '04 without team chemistry.

I know that there is no way to measure it. And it didn't help them in '03...but it probably helped them go further than they should have with a pitching staff of Pedro, Lowe, Burkett, Wakefield, and Suppan...Of course, their offense was ridiculous...but there is something to teams that play as a team, without the individual egos getting in the way...

Anyway, the quotes...There are those who go to games and get really drunk and ruin careers of former Rookie of the Year players with their relentless tauntings. If they want to yell at the Yankees, then so be it...

also, i didn't mean to imply that you were making any direct comparisons between the two teams, but tavarez was the first thing that popped into my head, as the subject of the incident last spring came up in a conversation i had earlier in the day.

i cited shefield and giambi (and even proctor) as being of questionable character, so the 'roids thing is covered, whether they used them or not. (though giambi all but publicly admitted to doing so and i think it is more than likely that sheff probably did as well.)

i've read and heard similar statements before, but i feel that the knock on damon is ridiculous. he's a goofball who speaks before he thinks, but i doubt that he knowingly and maliciously lies... if the sox had offered him a couple of million dollars more, he would have stayed. he's said so. he felt that the sox didn't want him. i couldn't promise that i wouldn't turn down that kind of money if i was feeling slighted by my employer. i'd be willing to bet that when he made the never-play-for-the-yankees statement he wouldn't have guessed that theo & co. would give him a single take-it-or-leave-it offer, refusing to budge a cent, considering all that he'd done with and for them. (talk about "character".)

other than that, everyone else you mentioned is no longer on the team.

and of course i'd rather have o'neil over sheff and tino over giambi, but those guys aged. they couldn't play at that level anymore. you have to pencil someone into those spots.

(wouldn't you rather have trot nixon in his prime as opposed to jd drew? of course you would... same situation.)

here is what sheffield ghad to say about ivan rodriguez batting leadoff for the tigers:

Asked if he believes Rodriguez has the attributes of a leadoff hitter, Sheffield replied: “If anybody can do it, it’s him. He’s out there running sprints double what we’re doing. His engine never stops. ... I tell him, ‘Give me some of what you’re taking.’ ”

I don't know if Tino aged. They definitely got more production out of Giambi, but Tino's last season there, he hit 34 HRs and drove in 113 RBI.

O'Neill was actually replaced with Justice and Mondesi (also falling into that questionable category).

As for Damon, he was offered 10MM/year, and (as the story goes), never counter-offered...His counter-offer was "The Yankees just offered me more money"...the Sox didn't believe him...He left.

I loved the guy when he was here. He played hard everyday. But he said what he said and he went where he went...It would be the equivalent of Schilling going to the Yankees after this year (after he said he wouldn't)...

It doesn't all matter that much in the end...As you said, that was the past (and I agree with that...Steinbrenner was back to his 1970s/80s ways).

Scott Proctor Cant Find The Strike Zone because he is too busy juggling his new baby boy with little miss reality show. Oh Yeah, he also has one with Wifey due later this spring. Must be fun times in the Proctor house